CHENNAI: The past few years have seen growing public recognition and discussion on corruption across the globe. The issue of corruption has stirred up numerous debates and agitations and attracted extensive coverage in the Indian media over the past few years. So what is it that makes humans corrupt? Is it power, status, wealth or lack of these that makes them so? From a spiritual perspective, it is said that corruption has its roots in the soul, in the form of vices such as greed, anger and ego which have eaten into the vitals of the human soul, robbing it of its original qualities like peace, love and truth. So in simple words, it can be said that human souls have become corrupt due to vices.
At the root of corruption lie the vices of lust, anger, greed, attachment and ego, which give rise to the desires that drive people to amass wealth by wrong means. The blind chase for wealth, power and fame becomes a vicious circle that feeds itself through more desires and indulgence. The temporary experience of joy or power one gets from these assets soon gives way to emptiness, insecurity and more desires and over a period of time, people then become slaves to their desires and vices, and totally impervious to committing wrong deeds.
Essentially, corruption began in the world when human beings fell from soul consciousness into body consciousness and started acting under the influence of vices. Hence, the remedy for uprooting corruption lies not in laws, regulations and political awareness but in spiritual empowerment.
We must awaken to our true self and live by our original values of peace, purity, love and joy. Today we do not experience these qualities of the soul all the time because we are always looking outside for these things. When we look inwards and become aware of our true identity and innate qualities, we begin to express and experience them in our lives naturally. Remember ! a soul that is aware of its spiritual identity will never indulge in corrupt actions as it knows that they will lead to suffering and degradation. Hence in order to live a peaceful, contented, happy and liberated life, proper knowledge of one’s real ‘self i.e. the soul, its functioning and its role in the world drama is a ‘must’. So start some soul searching from now onwards and embark on a wonderful journey of self-discovery.